Birth date

20. 08. 1941  [en] Bratislava

Death date

29. 12. 2002  [en] Bratislava

Fields of interest

próza, dráma, literatúra pre deti a mládež, publicistika

Briefly about author

The joint work of Milan Lasica and Július Satinský (an abbreviation L+S as a kind of label has been used for decades) is an expressive and unique phenomenon of Slovak culture in recent decades. On one hand they address a very diverse public, on the other they span various genres (plays, sketches, dialogues, narratives, adaptations, etc.), but the authors`s signature is always discernable. This and the intellectual dimension of their humour, links them with the Czech comic duo Voskovec and Werich (V+W). The authors themselves regard them as their forerunners. The public sees Lasica and Satinský mainly as humorists, albeit with
a privileged status, which distinguishes them from other popular entertainers. That is to say, their comedy does not have simple situational or current political settings. This does not mean that they do not present important social issues in their texts. On the contrary, they often manage to react to them without producing satire. Their humour, verging on nonsensical clownery, is, however, prevailingly based on wordplay and double entendres. This branch of absurd comedy mainly finds its expression in short sketches, dialogues and scenes. But it is also the basic means of expression in their longer drama productions. Their absurdity, which stems from wordplay, does not mean an escape from reality for L+S. Their texts come to terms with irony, with cultural and social conventions, literary tradition, and national mentality. Their sceptical humour particularly excels in confrontation with romantic national myths. All of these characteristics are clearly seen in L+S`s crowning work: the free collection of scenes Soirée (performed during Czechoslovakia`s occupation by the Soviet army it became a synonym of free artistic expression) and the stage plays Day of Joy and Our Friend René.

Briefly about production

scripts, plays and narratives (with M. Lasica):
An Evening for Two (Večer pre dvoch, 1966), Not Waiting for Godot (Nečakanie na Godota, 1968), Lasica, Satinský, and You /Soirée (Lasica, Satinský a vy /Soirée, 1970), Three Plays /Nobody Is at the Door, Our Friend René, Day of Joy/(Tri hry /Nikto nie je za dverami, Náš priateľ René, Deň radosti/, 1988), Where We Go for it (Kam na to chodíte, 1991, with S. Štepka), Collected Works: Milan Lasica and Július Satinský 1, 2 (Súborné dielo: Milan Lasica a Július Satinský 1, 2, 1996, 1998), Trialogue (Trialóg, 1997, with M. Horníček)

feuilletons:
My Dear Slovaks (Moji milí Slováci, 1991), The Caravan Barks, the Dogs Go Further 1, 2 (Karavána šteká, psi idú ďalej 1, 2, 1993, 1994), Be Quiet (Už ani muk, 1994), Uncle Sausage`s Tales (Rozprávky uja Klobásu, 1996, literature for children)

Biography for author

Born 20 August 1941 in Bratislava. He studied dramaturgy at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava. Even as a student he performed with M. Lasica. After graduation he was an actor in the Tatra and Divadlo na korze theatres. When in 1970 he and M. Lasica were forbidden to perform in Slovakia, they went to Brno and from 1971 to 1972 played in the cabaret Večerní Brno. Then he returned to Bratislava and joined the Nová scéna cabaret. Since 1982 he has performed in Štúdio S. Satinský lives in Bratislava.

about author

Conflict or dramatic plot was never a source of dramatic tension in L+S`s productions: they had a dynamic plot even without a carefully constructed story-line. Normal conversation about everyday things, keen perception of paradoxical facts and daring word combinations, distinctive analysis and shifts of meaning they made their own. The duo`s suggestive humour does not stem from commentary on actual events and not at all from jokes with political themes. The targeted humour of political cabaret is essentially alien to them. Their strength is not in allusions to periods, but in "eternal" themes. (...) Lasica and Satinský are topical and often surprisingly politically dynamic, but paradoxically they are all the more "eternally human" because of their "non-topicality". They count on spontaneous analogies, which resonate subconsciously in their appearances.

Lasica and Satinský are masters of paradoxical association. They sing like a banal pop song one of the notoriously familiar poems written by the bard of Slovak poetry P. O. Hviezdoslav some ninety years ago, Bloody Sonnets. The philosophizing of two dairy farmers concerns hen droppings and the universe. It is absurd existential humour materialized in a very concrete form... It is as if existential anxiety constantly pulses behind Lasica and Satinský`s humour, which they try to conceal with creative clownery.

Sample

IN FRONT OF THE FAMILY HOUSE (extracts)